Salvation in the Blues
by Apapazukamori
Summary: A routine seeming mission brings something unexpected.


~*~  
Title: Salvation in the Blues  
Author: Bridget  
Email: bdools@hotmail.com  
Spoilers: none  
Notice: mild swearing  
Teaser: A routine-seeming mission brings something unexpected.  
Keywords: Weiss, original character  
  
~*~  
  
"Days this sunny just aren't normal."  
  
"You only say that because you're hung over and never up before noon, Yohji." Ken said lightheartedly as he slid a stalk of foxglove in a white rose and rosemary flower arrangement.  
  
"Your words wound, Hidaka, they really hit me right here." Yohji thumped a hand over his heart while rolling his eyes. Slipping his sunglasses over his abused eyes, he blew a thick smoke ring towards the arrangement. Ken sputtered and waved it away frantically.  
  
"Yohji!!"  
  
"Yohji-san hidoiiiii." One of the multitude of faceless fangirls teased, giggling behind her hand. She squealed in delight as Yohji winked at her, ignoring the looks of spite coming from the girls around her.  
  
"Put that thing out and get moving, Kudoh!" Ken snapped, causing the girls around him to comment on how 'scary' he was, all the while mentally undressing him. Schoolgirls were the epitome of contradiction, the four of them knew that well enough. They said things while thinking or doing something completely different.  
  
"Isn't lunch hour almost over?"  
  
The collective of underaged females squealed, Ken forgotten, as Aya emerged from the back room. The redhead barely acknowledged their presence, other than nudging them out of the way so he could put a pot of snowy white poppies on the window display. The small clock on the far wall chimed, signaling the end of the lunch hour, and the girls streamed out of the shop, bemoaning the existence of school that kept them away from watching the cute boys in the flower shop. Their teachers probably cursed the existence of said boys, which caused the girls to be late for their classes.   
  
Equally blessed and cursed, such was their lot in life.  
  
"I thought they'd never leave!" Ken said, sighing in relief, slumping down and setting his chin on the countertop. "Some of those girls are scary as hell."  
  
"I thought you'd appreciate them rubbing up against you, Kenken." Yohji purred, slipping an arm around Ken's shoulders. "Probably the most action you've had recently, hmmmm?"  
  
Ken flushed crimson to the roots of his hair. "Sh... shut up Yohji!!!" He shouted, pulling away from the older man. He quickly finished the arrangement he had been working on and wrapped it up to be delivered the following day. He stayed at least five feet away from Yohji, all the while muttering insults at the blonde underneath his breath.   
  
Yohji laughed and pulled out another cigarette, which Aya snatched from his lips before the lighter's flame could ever meet with it. Yelping a protest, Yohji swung a leg out to trip the redhead. Aya jumped it, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the foot that caught his ankles mid-landing. He wound up on the floor, rubbing his tailbone and glaring pointedly at Yohji, who just smirked.  
  
The small silver bell above the door to the shop jingled, announcing their latest customer. All three men turned to see the new arrival, a polite 'irrashai' on their lips. It died when they got a good look at her.  
  
It was impossible to tell her age, though she was certainly not old. Her pale white face was free of lines and radiant with healthy beauty. Blue eyes sparkled and danced like stars behind demurely lowered lashes as she smiled shyly. "Konnichiwa." Her voice put the bell above the door to shame, along with any other instrument they could think of. She blushed and toyed with her fine cinnamon and gold hair nervously under the collective stares of the shop's employees, which only served to make her that much more attractive.  
  
Yohji managed to pick his jaw up off the floor first. "I... Irasshaimasse, ojou-san." He greeted in a hoarse voice. He kicked at Aya, who was still gaping in an uncharacteristically open manner at the woman from his spot on the floor. The redhead blinked and slammed his expression closed, climbing to his feet and dusting off his apron. He turned on his heel and headed for the back room, smacking Ken on the back of the head as he left. The brunette barely noticed, but it did force him to blink before he resumed staring at her overtly from behind the counter.  
  
The woman, still smiling hesitantly, met Yohji's eyes and then looked away. The pure innocence of her behavior managed to stir something deep in Yohji's stomach, and it instantly drifted lower. Yohji was mortified to be so turned on by her childlike purity, but he couldn't help it. She radiated a sexuality she was oblivious to. Yohji stared over her shoulder at the door before evidence of his desire became embarrassingly visible. "How can we help you?"  
  
"I need an arrangement appropriate for a wedding gift."  
  
Flower arrangement, he could do that. He would climb to the top of Tokyo Tower if it would take his mind off the painful feeling of want in his stomach. "Ryokai!" He said, a little too enthusiastically. Pulling out a pair of pruning shears he scanned the flower selection for something that would do. "Who's the gift for?"  
  
"My fiance."  
  
Yohji and Ken fell over as if a piano had dropped down on their heads. Staggering to his feet and laughing slightly to cover his embarassment, Yohji nodded. "Sure... fiance... right...." He began to pull out stalks of nightshade, aloe and yellow carnations. He was on his way to the pot of marigolds when Ken punched him in the arm.  
  
"Baka." He muttered, taking the flowers from him and creating an arrangement of dahlias, pink carnations and a single red rose in the center of it. He wrapped it and placed a blank card inside for the woman to write a message on, then handed it to her. "Is this good?" He asked, blushing.  
  
"It's beautiful!" The woman's eyes lit up and she clasped her hands around Ken's. The brunette meeped and managed to keep from dropping the flowers. "Doumo arigato!"  
  
After paying for the flowers, she bowed low to the both of them, then left the shop. The silver bell jingled mournfully in her wake, voicing the feelings in the now empty shop. Yohji sagged against the counter. Moments after she left, Aya emerged from the back room. Yohji snorted as the redhead stared out of the window, trying to appear uninterested in the fact that the amazingly beautiful woman had left. "I don't believe it," Yohji announced to the empty shop, snickering. "Aya 'SHI-NE' Fujimiya, bane of villians everywhere and a permanent pain in Takatori family's ass, ran from a woman."  
  
Aya's glare had enough venom in it to level a small country, but Yohji brushed it off. Believe it or not, but he knew the redhead could do worse. "And I don't believe the great womanizer Yohji Kudoh was struck speechless by the very same woman."  
  
"HEY!" Yohji snapped, irritated at having that failing pointed out. "At least I held my ground like a man, Aya. I didn't hide in the back room until she left."  
  
They turned and glared at Ken, who was laughing at the both of them. Seeing their malicious stares, he stifled the laughter to a subdued sniggering. "You two are way too funny."  
  
"Did I miss something again?" A voice called as Omi flung open the door and hurried into the shop.  
  
Taking the hint from the threatening looks being directed at him by Yohji and Aya, Ken bit his lip, smiling. "Nah, you didn't miss much."  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
Omi rolled his eyes at Aya's question and pulled out a half-empty box of Pocky. "Class got out early because someone broke a water pipe."  
  
Aya rose one eyebrow in speculation. "That happens a lot at your school."  
  
"I think that Naoe jerk from Schwartz goes there, too." Omi said, cramming the rest of the chocolate covered sticks into his mouth. "It's probably his fault."  
  
"Now we'll get the afternoon rush eariler and it'll last longer." Ken sighed dramatically. "Dammit."  
  
"Heh, that's why I ran. Managed to avoid most of the stalkers on the way here."  
  
"You're the only person I know who runs *away* from the girls, Omitcchi." Yohji teased, then glanced at Aya. "Well, maybe not the *only* one....." Laughing, he bolted out the door for a cigarette break before Aya could threaten to kill him.  
  
~*~  
  
At the end of the day, after everything had been cleaned and closed up, the four flower peddling assassins of White Cross were left to recover from the four-hour, insanely chaotic rush. Ken lay sprawled out on the living room floor. He hadn't moved since he'd tripped and tumbled there ten minutes ago. "I can't move my arms." He moaned.  
  
"I can't move your arms either." Omi responded from his spot on the couch. One leg was hanging over the arm, the other tucked beneath it. "I must have straightened the displays forty times today... why do those girls have to touch *everything*?!"  
  
"Hormones rage at their age, Omitcchi." Yohji drawled as he emerged from the second floor, rubbing a towel on his damp hair. "Surely you know *that.*"  
  
"Yohji!"  
  
Omi sighed irritably. "Everything comes back to sex, doesn't it, Yohji-kun?"  
  
Yohji grinned mischeviously as he opened the refrigerator door. "Why shouldn't it?" The blonde dropped the wet towel over one of the kitchen chairs and scanned the meager leftovers available. Since Aya was off somewhere and Yohji didn't trust Ken in the kitchen, cooking an actual meal was out of the question unless Omi wanted to do it. Something told Yohji that the kid was firmly against doing any more work that night, so week old Kung Pao chicken would have to suffice. Thank heaven for the microwave.  
  
A noise from downstairs caught their attention. Recognizing it instantly, Omi covered his head with a couch cushion while Ken curled up on the floor, muttering "nononononono no no no...."  
  
The noise grew persistantly louder and the three of them knew they would be in serious trouble if they pretended not to be home. She had perception that rivaled God; she knew they were there. Omi wondered how long they could stave off the inevitable before someone absolutely *had* to let her in.  
  
Only one way to settle it.  
  
"One... two.... THREE!"  
  
"Ha! Not me!"  
  
"Dammit!"  
  
"Why do you always pick scissors, Ken-kun?"  
  
"I keep hoping that someday, one of you three will be dumb enough to pick paper...."  
  
Ignoring Omi and Yohji's laughter, Ken thundered down the stairs into the shop and opened the metal shutter to let Manx in. She was standing by the door, one hand on her hip, the other holding a file folder and VHS tape. More surprising was that Aya was with her, keys in hand. He must have arrived and was about to let her in just as Ken had come to do the honors. Aya eyed him, amusement ghosting over the stern face before vanishing faster than a blink.  
  
"Scissors again, Ken?"  
  
"Oh shut up."  
  
~*~  
  
"These guys are the dumbest kidnappers *ever.*" Yohji muttered over the headsets as the four members of White Cross fanned out around the huge, dilapidated old house on the outskirts of Tokyo. Ken surpressed a grunt of agreement as he peered down at two of their targets through a skylight installed in the flat roof. "Negative for guards here."  
  
"Here too, Bombay." Ken murmured as he inspected the skylight for a means to enter the house by it. The mission was almost obscenely simple. A well-known anti-revisionist's son had been kidnapped and the ransom demanded was over fifteen million yen. The kidnappers had been hired by members of the government who were trying to keep the activist quiet. White Cross' mission was to retrieve the son and kill the six kidnappers. It did not get to the root of the problem, but it would guarentee that the kidnappers would see justice. In time, the mission to assassinate the government officials would come across their path, but for now, the objective was taking out the little fish.  
  
"Hostage, hostage, who's got the hostage?" Ken leaned a little further over the skylight, craning to see more than the 20x20 foot space directly below the mirror.  
  
Something moved out of the corner of his eye, and he nearly lost his balance. He caught himself just before hitting the glass, a move that would have undoubtedly sent him right through and down into the house before the others were in position.  
  
"Everyone in position?" Omi's tinny, static laden voice came through.  
  
"Chotto matte, Bombay. There's someone up here with me."  
  
Snapping out his claws, Ken carefully walked around the roof, straining for a glance of whatever he'd seen. The wind had picked up, and the air was heavy with the smell of rain. The only light available was the weak yellow glow coming from the skylight, and it was hardly enough to give him anything to see by as he searched the roof.  
  
Then he caught it, a flash of white going over the side of the house. He raced across the roof and stared down after it.   
  
Twenty feet below, Aya stared angrily up at him. "Siberian, are you done screwing around?"  
  
"You didn't see anything come this way?"  
  
"No."  
  
Ken frowned. "You sure?"  
  
"Of course!!"  
  
"Siberian, Abyssinian? We have to move soon or we'll miss our chance."  
  
"Ryoukai." Both assassins acknowledged. Ken shifted back from the edge of the roof and resumed his position over the skylight. He was bothered by what had happened, but that was obvious.  
  
~*~  
  
"Shit!" Yohji hissed as a bullet passed through his thigh, collapsing his leg beneath him. Too much firepower. Not good.  
  
He hobbled around a corner, getting shielding from the half dozen or so men with guns standing in the main foyer of the house. The hostage was dead, shot in the first round of fighting, when White Cross had gotten the jump on four of the six anticipated kidnappers. However, someone had screwed up in their headcount, and missed the twenty guards they hadn't counted on. Now the remaining objective, kill the kidnappers, was null and void. Survival and escape became the number one priority. Although, split up and shot up, Yohji was having difficulty with both. From the chatter coming over the headset, he could assume that the others were having the same problems as he.  
  
"Bombay!!"  
  
No response from their youngest.  
  
"Shit, Omi! Are you all right?" Ken's voice was frantic over the headset, and it twisted Yohji's heart strings to even think something had happened to Omi. He took off down the hall, half running and half limping.  
  
"Siberian, where are you?"  
  
"Pinned down by the kitchen." Ken was in pain, it rang in the words that answered Aya's question. "Om--Bombay was supposed to be covering my back! I can't get to him!"  
  
Yohji could hear people persuing him and he picked up his pace, painful as it was. Sprint-hopping past one of the open doors, Yohji caught a glimpse of something white moving just out of his vision. He paused, looking within the room. It was a narrow room with a set of stairs leading to the second floor. And it was empty. "What the...."  
  
"Gotcha!!"  
  
Time to move. Yohji threw himself into the room and locked the door. He began to climb the stairs, trying to escape. It was fairly stupid, really, any idiot knew that you didn't go up when you needed to go *out,* but at least the stairs gave him some cover. Gunshots blasting through metal and wood served to hasten Yohji's speed up the stairs into a large hallway. He chose the closest room and shut himself in. At last, able to catch his breath, he stripped off his trenchcoat and used it to staunch the flow of blood coming from his leg.  
  
Leaning heavily against the wall, gasping, he heard the voice. It was singing something, in a language he didn't understand. But it was definitely a sorrowful song, sung by what sounded like a woman with a beautiful voice. Pressing his ear to the wall, he could hear it more clearly in the room next to his.  
  
He also heard footsteps pounding into the hallway as the bad guys began to search for him. Doors opened and slammed shut again when rooms were found to be empty. The door to the room on his right banged closed.... then the one on his left did the same. The footsteps retreated, but his door never opened. He'd been skipped.  
  
"Balinese, where are you?"  
  
Yohji was broken out of his stunned stupor by Aya's deep voice. "Upstairs."  
  
"I've got Siberian and Bombay, he needs a doctor ASAP. Get down here, we're leaving."  
  
"H-hai." Yohji emerged from his sanctuary and risked a glance down the hall towards the room beside him. The voice had been coming from there.... "Ne, Siberian?"  
  
"Nani?" Ken choked out, exhausted.  
  
"When you saw that thing on the roof, it wasn't... singing, was it?"  
  
"Ahh... no, it wasn't. Why?"  
  
Yohji shook his head. "Betsuni... I thought I heard something." He said dismissively, while limping down the stairs and checking to see if the coast was clear before struggling to run down the hall towards the front door.  
  
~*~  
  
Omi's unconscious and bleeding body was heavy against Aya's back; the redhead shifted the weight and tried to stand without falling over. They needed a hospital. The whole mission was a disaster, and that fact would only be compounded if Omi died on them in the middle of the abandoned house. Ken was beside him in the small alcove under the main stairs, clumsily bandaging a bullet wound in his arm using the remains of his tattered orange shirt. The brunette sported two long gashes on his cheek and a swollen left eye.  
  
Where was Yohji? The house was still swarming with guards, though collectively they'd managed to kill about ten of them before being overwhelmed.  
  
"Dammit, you'd think he'd hurry up." Ken muttered hoarsely. Aya only grunted in response. Omi's breath was becoming more and more labored. Ken's eyes looked frantically from Aya to Omi and then back. "I'll wait for him. You get out of here." He said quickly, unsheathing his claws.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'll cover you. Get Omi to a hospital before we lose him."  
  
There was no arguing with the brunette, whose defiant expression dared him to. Aya nodded once, and then slipped out of the alcove. He hurried to the door with Omi on his back, Ken behind him watching for anyone who might happen upon the rescue effort.  
  
"Skipping out before the party starts, ne?"  
  
Ken whirled at the sound of the taunting voice and kept himself between Aya and the scarred man with the gun. Aya halted, hating to have to hide behind Ken, but with Omi on his back, there was no way to fight. Metal claws glinting, Ken stepped into a defensive stance, shifted his weight back, and launched forward at the gunman. He slammed into him just as something hit the man from behind. Between the two forces, the man fell unconscious. Ken wiped blood from his eyes and looked up.  
  
"Yohji!" He ran to the older blonde and slung a limp arm over his shoulder. "Took you long enough."  
  
"Well, I like making an entrance." The humor in his voice was forced and painful. He leaned heavily against the brunette, favoring his sloppily bandaged leg.  
  
"Iku yo."  
  
"I really don't think so, my friends."  
  
The three conscious members of White Cross glanced in the direction of the front door, where the head kidnapper stood, machine gun in hand. Behind them, the remaining guards fanned out, trapping them. The kidnapper grinned. "Hands behind your heads and turn around."  
  
Grimacing, Aya gently laid Omi on the ground and complied. The small blonde's face was grey, making the purpleish lips stand out in grusome contrast. There was no way they were going to save him in time. Aya shut his eyes tightly, refusing to let the roiling emotions within him show on his face or eyes. It was only a matter of time before their luck had run out. It was just disappointing that Omi would be the first to go.  
  
"See you guys in Hell, ne?"  
  
"Right behind you, Kenken."  
  
The machine gun began to spew bullets and Aya opened his eyes long enough to see everything engulfed in a brilliant white light.  
  
~*~  
  
As he opened his eyes, Ken wanted to know why nothing hurt. Around him, all the people who had turned their wepons on him and the others were lying motionless on the floor.   
  
"What... the hell?" Yohji muttered, lowering his arms and turning to Ken, who just shook his head.  
  
"Itai...."  
  
"Omi!" The three men crowded around the boy laying on the floor. He looked tired and sallow, but otherwise perfectly unhurt. Ken helped Omi stand as questions hung unanswered in the air.  
  
Omi stared at all the downed attackers. "Are they dead?"  
  
"Only sleeping."  
  
Ken had heard that voice before. The captivating, musical voice that sent his heart leaping into his throat. He whirled around to face the staircase and saw her. It couldn't have been anyone other than the woman who had visited their shop earlier that day. Or was it yesterday? It was impossible to tell what time it was. She smiled at them sadly, but with an expression of absolute love burning in her eyes. She began to descend the staircase, cradling a body in her arms. A closer glance revealed it to be the hostage they had failed to rescue.  
  
"Daijoubu, minna-sama. It is my fault alone."  
  
Yohji frowned. "I don't understand."  
  
She held the limp head closer to her breast and pressed her cheek against the blood soaked hair. "I am his guardian angel."  
  
As if to convince them further, she began to shine, white wings spreading out from her back. It was the same white glow he'd seen before. "Wait, you--"  
  
She nodded. "I was watching you four as well."  
  
Omi gasped. "He didn't... not when you were watching us..."  
  
"Do not worry. It was his time to leave this earth. To leave me."  
  
"Your fiance?" Yohji asked, voice hoarse.  
  
The angel only smiled sadly. The body dissolved in her hands, leaving her pure white skin reddened with blood. After an instant, the color faded too. She stood before them all, close enough to reach out and touch them. She didn't reach out, instead she stepped forward and laid a gentle kiss on four cheeks.   
  
Ken felt heat rising to his face as he touched the tingling spot where her lips had been. The angel stepped back and smiled softly. "Good-bye, minna-sama. I will see you again. When He welcomes you into his arms."  
  
Ever the realist and ever untouched by what was around him, Aya snorted softly. "Not likely."  
  
She ran a hand over his cheek and shook her head. She faded, but not before delivering a last message.  
  
"None of you have a place in the darkness."  
  
~*~  
owari  
~*~  
  
Ken's arrangement:  
White Rose - silence  
Rosemary - rememberence  
Fox Glove - a wish  
  
Aya brought out a pot of white poppies when the girls were fawning over them.   
They mean "my bane." Heehee  
  
The initial arrangement for the woman's fiance:  
Nightshade - dark thoughts  
Aloe - dejection  
Yellow carnation - distain   
Marigold - grief  
[harboring some anger, are we, Yohji -kun?]  
  
The arrangement he actually got:  
Dahlia - forever thine  
Red Rose - I love you  
Pink Carnation - woman's love  
[Kenken's so romantic... *awww*] 


End file.
